Music-leaf turner.



No. 634,279. Patanted Oct. 3, I899. H. E. SWARTS.

MUSIC LEAF TURNER.

(Application Mod Apr. 16, 1899.)

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- No. 634,279. Patented Oct. 3, I899. H. E. SWARTS.

MUSIC LEAF TURNER.

(Applicltion filed. Apr. 15, 1899.)

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To all whom it may concern:

UNITED STATES PATENT @EETQE.

HOMER E. SVVARTS, OF lvAUKESllA, \VISCONSIN.

MUSIC -LEAF TURNER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 634,279, dated October 3, 1899.

Application filed April 15, 1899. Serial No. 718,173. (No modeh) Be it known that I, HOMER E. SWARTS, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Vaukesha, in the county of lVaukesha and State of \Visconsin have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Music-Leaf Turners; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

My invention relates to devices for turning the leaves of sheets or books of musical compositions while the same are upon a music rack or stand, such as that of a piano or organ, for example; and it consists in certain peculiarities of construction and combination of parts, all as will be fully set forth hereinafter and subsequently claimed.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a front elevation of my device in operative position, with a music-sheet secured thereto, parts being broken away to better illustrate certain de tails of construction. Fig. 2 is a vertical sectionfon the line 2 2 of Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectional view on the line 3 3 of Fig. 1; but in Figs. 2 and 3 the lower leafturning lever is shown in its closed position and in Fig. 1 in its opened position. Fig. 4. is an edge view of the lower part of one of the leaf-holding arms mounted upon its lever, the latter being shown in section.

Referring to the drawings, A represents the base of my device, and B a skeleton frame rising therefrom, said frame being preferably composed of a series of vertically and horizon tally disposed wires, as shown. The said base preferably consists of a rectangular frame, with panels a Z) and division-walls e (Z c, the division-walls e (Z being connected by front and rear obliquely-disposed bars, (marked 0 and D, respectively, and hereinafter more particularly described.)

E E represent a series of leaf-turning levers, of which four are shown in the present illustration, but the number, more or less, being immaterial. These levers are formed with hubs f adjacent to their inner ends g, which hubs are mounted one above the other upon a vertical journal 7L, secured at the center of the base A.

F F represent spiral retracting-springs, one end of each spring being secured to the end g of one of said levers E and the other end of said spring being secured to the divisionwall d.

G G represent vertical arms, whose lower ends are formed or provided with sleeves '11 to receive and slide upon the levers E and whose upper ends are provided with spring clips j to grasp and hold the leaves of the music sheets or books.

ll H represent a series of key-levers which terminate in hubs 7t 7t, mounted upon ahorizontal journal m, extending between the de scribed division-walls 0 (Z. The front oblique bar O between said division-walls is formed with a series of notches or slots at n inits under side and rearward-projecting lugs o 0, one on each side of each notch or slot, together with forward-projectin g fingers 1), one above each notch or slot 11.

I I represent a series of latches whose shanks extend rearwardly through said notches or slots n n and which are shown pivoted between said lugs 0 o by pivot-pins q q, the extreme projecting rear ends of the shanks of the latches I being connected by spiral retracting-springs J to the described rear oblique bar D and the said shanks of the latches I being further pivotally connected by links K to the shanks of the key-levers H.

L L L are a series of hooks on the upper bar of the skeleton frame B, and M M M a like series of hooks on the base A, and between each opposed pair of hooks L H there is stretched a flexible link N, (which may be a fine wire or even a very fine rubber band,) and the opened leaves of the music sheet or book P which are not to be played from are socured between said skeleton frame B and said flexible links N N. The panel I) of the base A is preferably inclined inward toward the division-wall e, which, as shown in Fig. 3, is of less width than that of the other divisionwall, this construction being to afford a good clearance for the adjacent ends of the lovers E when they are thrown over to the position shown by the lowest lever in Fig. 1.

The operation of my device will be readily understood from the foregoing dese 'iption of its construction, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings. Let it be supposed that the performer has just finished playing from the score exposed in Fig. 1 (one leaf having alreadybeen turned over in that view) and is ready to play from the next page. All that .he has to do is to depress the proper key-lever, (in this instance the second key-lever, shown in Fig. 1,) which will draw down the latch I below the level of the lever E which it has been holding, and then the retractingspring F attached to this particular lever E will instantly reverse the position of the said lever, and this will carry with it, by means of its leaf-holding arm G, the attached leaf, which will be thus carried over just as the previous leaf had been, exposing the two new pages to the performer, and so on until the last leaf has been turned. After a leaf has been freed from the described detent, which comprises the latch I and finger p, the retracting-spring J will instantly restore the latch to its former position, so that if a leaf has been prematurely freed it will be only necessary to turn it back, when the lever attached to said leaf will again automatically engage with the detent, and the same will be held until again released by pressure on the keylever. Further, by reason of the construction of the sleeve on the lower end of each arm G the said arm maybe adjusted laterally on its lever, so that the clip 7' may engage with the edge of the leaf irrespective of the width of the latter.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Iietters Patent, is-

In a music-leaf turner,the combination with a suitable frame and supporting-base, of a series of levers supported on a vertical journal, one end of each lever being connected by a retracting-spring to said base; a series of arms, each having a sleeve at is lower end for adjustable engagement with one of said levers, and a spring-clip at its upper end for engagement with a leaf of a book or sheet; a series of latches pivotally secured to said base, and a series of fingers projecting therefrom, for engagement with said levers; a series of retracting-springs connecting the rear ends of said latches to said base; and a series of key-levers pivotally linked to said latches.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand, at Milwaukee, in the county of Milwaukee and State of \Viseonsin, in the presence of two witnesses.

HOMER E. SWAR'IS.

\Vitnesses:

II. G. UNDERWOOI), B. 0. Roman. 

